Fish Out of Water
by seasaltmemories
Summary: Arthur was not one to lie, but for some reason it felt wrong to bring up his magical origin. She couldn't be too different from him, but right now he hardly cared about talking about himself. This charming mermaid girl occupied the center of his attention. For RFSS2016


The opened connection between the magical and mortal realms, was one of Arthur's favorite advancements of this century. Both worlds had so much to learn from each other that it was honestly silly to have closed off communication for so long.

Humans were such an interesting lot, always chasing some new idea. Their thirst for knowledge was unique among many of the species he had interacted with, so the moment human colleges had opened up their doors to supernatural, Arthur had rushed to attend. It had taken some time to get used to the mortal realm, but he relished the chance to study among the human half of his heritage. Still the other half proved to have an equal calling.

After a night of long night of studying, he had been wanting to arrive early to his finals. While there was no denying the bags under his eyes, he had felt optimistic and focused. That is until he came across her.

He remembered seeing her on campus a few times. Green hair wasn't a human trait, but then these days they had come up with all sorts of ways to modify their bodies. She had seemed to attract more friends and acquaintances than usual, but he had explained that away with her bright personality. Regardless of all these traits, he had never thought she could be supernatural until he was faced with her and her scaly aquatic tail wiggling across the floor.

"Dumb freshmen," She muttered to herself, seemingly unaware of his presence.

"Uh, excuse me," He tapped her on the shoulder to alert her of his existence. "Do you need any help Miss?"

Green eyes widen in surprise at his appearance. "Oh sorry to inconvenience you. Just a few mermaid problems. Shouldn't be too hard to solve on my own."

"Would you welcome my assistance though?"

A forced smile spread across her face. "I guess I have no real reason to decline."

"May I?" After she nodded, he scooped her up in his arms, supporting her upper half against his chest while her tail hung more loosely. "Comfortable?"

"Mmhm."

"Alright, where do we need to get you?"

"You know where the swimming pool is located?"

"Not quite."

"Then just follow my instructions. Near the cafeteria if you go down that staircase," She continued on, and Arthur followed dutifully. His internal clock screamed every minute that he couldn't miss his final, but the mermaid girl's gentle chatter managed to stave his anxiety. There was nothing that said he couldn't be a decent fellow and care about his studies.

When they finally arrived at the swimming pool, Arthur gently set her down in the water as best as he could. Just at the mere contact, she began to hum in satisfaction. While nowhere near an actual song, he could feel the enchanting effects of her voice already begin to cast its spell.

"Excuse me, could you not-"

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to charm you!" While she covered her mouth with a simple gesture, he couldn't help but find it endearing nevertheless.

"It's fine. Do you think you'll be ok now?"

"Oh yeah, thank you so much," Her laugh was almost musical. "I'm so lucky to have my own Prince Eric to save me."

Arthur couldn't help but flinch at her words. There was no way-did she really know about his royal fae heritage?

"Like from the Disney movie?" She clarified, mistaking his shock for confusion.

"Ah," He recovered a polite smile. "If you must call me a prince though, I rather you refer to my true name. I'm Arthur."

"Even better," She tittered. "My name's Frey. What brings you to Selphia?"

Arthur was not one to lie, but for some reason it felt wrong to bring up his magical origin. She couldn't be too different from him, but right now he hardly cared about talking about himself. This charming mermaid girl occupied the center of his attention.

"I'm studying business. And you?"

"Agriculture." She said with such enthusiasm he didn't even question the idea of a mermaid farming. "I guess that's why we've never crossed paths after all these years."

"Well I am only in my freshman year," He was much older than most human college students, but this was still a bit of a new experience to him. He still hadn't even finished his first semester-

His entire body froze at the realization his exam started in less than five minutes.

"Not to be rude, but I have an exam to get to soon."

"Oh my gosh! Don't worry about me just get there and do well. I'll be fine."

Arthur had already began sprinting, but her words made her run even faster. Still amidst his panic, he couldn't help but hold the memory of his encounter with her close to his heart.

 _I think I want to see her again._


End file.
